Israeli aircraft struck a series of targets in the Gaza Strip early Monday in response to a series of rocket launches out of the Hamas-ruled territory. It was the third consecutive night of fighting between the enemies.
Tensions have been heightened following last week's escape from an Israeli prison by six Palestinian inmates, as well as struggling efforts by Egypt to broker a long-term cease-fire in the wake of an 11-day war last May.
The Israeli military reported three separate rocket launches late Sunday and early Monday above several localities near the Gaza Strip. According to the IDF, at least two of the launches were intercepted by its Iron Dome rocket defense system.
In response, the IDF said it attacked a number of Hamas targets, including several outposts, as well as a warehouse where the military said the terrorist group used to store weapons, ammunition and which served as a gateway for a tunnel into Israeli territory.
"Once again, the terrorist organization Hamas chooses to act in the ways of terrorism over the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip," the military Spokesperson Unit said in a statement.
"The IDF will not accept a situation in which terrorist organizations act against the Israeli home front. The military will continue to respond strongly to terrorist acts from the Gaza Strip and considers Hamas responsible for everything that happens in the Strip."
A Hamas rocket intercepted above Sderot
(Video: Rafi Sason, Dedi Poled)
There were no reports of casualties on either side.
Over the weekend, Israel caught four of the six Palestinian inmates who tunneled out of the Gilboa maximum security prison on Sept. 6. Palestinian militants responded with rocket fire. Israel's search for the last two prisoners is continuing.
Meanwhile, Egyptian-mediated efforts to deliver a long-term truce have struggled with the sides unable to agree on a system to renew Qatari payments to needy Gaza families. Israel has demanded guarantees that Hamas does not divert the money for military use.
Gaza is an impoverished territory whose population is overwhelmingly comprised of families who fled or were forced from properties in what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948.
Hamas is pushing for Israel to end a crippling blockade that has devastated Gaza's economy, while Israel is demanding that Hamas free two captive Israeli civilians and return the remains of two dead Israeli soldiers.
Hamas has controlled Gaza since ousting the forces of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007, a year after the Islamic militant group won Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Since then, Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and numerous smaller rounds of fighting.